Sheet-feeding mechanism.



H. DE SMITH.

SHEET FEEDING MEGHANISM.

APPLIGATION FILED APRA, 1909.

1,G55,7l9 Patented Mar.11,191'3.

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H. DE SMITH.

SHEET PEBDING MBGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APRJ, 1909.

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SHEET FEBDING MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APRJ, 1909.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

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TTRNEY UNITED STATES PATENT omnes.

HENRY DE SMITH, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, vA SSIGrNOEt T0 M. D. KNOWLTON COM- PANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

SHEET-FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mali. 11, 1913.

Application ala April, 1, 1909. serial No. 487,191.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it knownv that I, HENRY DE SMITH, citizen of the United States, and resident of Rochester, in the lcounty of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and'v useful Improvements in lSheet- Feeding Mechanism, of which the following isaspecification. i

This invention relates to means `for auto. matically feeding sheets,` and especially s)heetds of flexible material, such as paperoar One of the main obj ectsl of the invention to provide an improved' automatic sheet feeding mechanisnn especially adapted in the present casel for .use ,in connection with a so-called flange-bending machinefor bending up the edge portions lof paperboard box or other container blanks, although equally adapted for use inconnection Withother types of machines for operating. on sheet material. ,Y

In carrying the invention into effect a pile of sheets or blanks, `as for example a pile of paper-board blanks, is placed upon a suitable supportor table and theksupp'orty is fed automatically toward a Vfeed-roller or equivalent device forengaging' theuppermost sheet or blank of the pile and feeding it away from the pile, the feed mecha'-` nism being so constructed as to feed the pile automatically as the successive sheets are removed therefrom by such feed-roller.

Important features of this automatic feed mechanism are devices for moving and guiding the support or table so that both ends thereof will move the same distance at each feed movement'of the pile, this result being accomplished preferably by providing means for guiding the table up and down in straight lines, and by also providing operating connections which move the table through equal distances at both ends thereof at each feed movement.

Other features of the invention not hereinbefore referred to will be hereinafter described and claimed and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of a flange-bending machine embodying my automatic feed mechanism and illustrating the feed-table inits lowered position with a pile of blanks thereon. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the table in its raised position with lnearly all of the sheets removed from the pile. 3 is a front velevation of the same with the parts in the positions shown in Fig. `1. l

lSimilarcharacters designate like parts in all= the figures of thedrawing.

v,VS-Thile' my automatic sheet-feeding mecha.-y nism may be applied to machines of various types, it isy herein shownA inV connection with a flange-bending machine for bending up the edgev portion of scored paper-'board box or other, container blanks. So much of such a machineis illustrated 1n the drawings as is necessary for.' anunderstanding of the present invention. 2 designates the legs and 3- tl1e bed ofhsuch a machine, to the opposite sides of which are boltedt-he ends of an arched cross-frame L on which is mounted av spring-armedbrush 5 and toV which is pivoted a frame 6 carrying the usual springpressed rolls 7 for holding Aeach sheet of paper-board down onta traveling conveyer 8,1 Iwhich conveyerpassjes overa` roller 9 cooperatingwit'h a small roller 10 on the frame 6, and between which the sheets are fed from a pile and thence through the flange-bending..machine. At the forward end-,of this .machine is ay heavy extension frame, designated generally by 11, and bolted to the mainframework hereinbefore described. On this extension all of the parts of the automatic feed mechanism for raising a pile of sheets step-by-step as individual sheets are removed from the pile, are supportedV for operation. One of the main features of this mechanism is a flat bed or table, such as 12, mounted for movement up and down to either feed the pile gradually upward or to `permit the table to be lowered to a point where a new pile may be placed in position. ln the construction shown this table is supported at both of its ends, and also guided and actuated at both ends, in such a manner that it is `positively moved at both ends through equal distances by connections from a motor. atopposite ends thereof pairs of depending links 13 and 14 vpivoted to the ends of corresponding rock-arms, such as l5 and 16, secured to rock-shafts 17 and 18 journaled in bearings in the forward ends of the ex- 105 gear-segment 21 on another rock-shaft 22 110 Here the table has The meansjust described for supporting.

the table and controlling its movements 1s supplemented by positive vertical guides. These positive guides are provided in the present case and are shown as depending guide-rods 23 secured to the table 12 near opposite sides thereof and having at their lower ends stops, such as 24, to limit their,

upward. movement.' These guide-rods 23 work in long vertical bores in opposite sides of the extension frame 11 and positively guide the table in its movements, as will be obvious.

Any suitable motor may be used for gradually feeding the table 12 upward to bring the individual sheets of a pile thereon into positie-n to be fed through the flangebending mechanism. In the present case a heavy weight is employed for the purpose, this being a very simple and effective means for accomplishing the desired result. Such a weight is shown at 25 secured to a leverarm 26 fastened to theI rock-shaft 22, said weight being preferably adjustable on such lever-arm` and having suitable means, such as a set-screw 27, for securing the weight in any desired adjusted position. Means may also be employed for holding the motor out of action except when it is desired to feed the table upward step-by-ste'por to restore it to its normal lowered position for receiving a pile of sheets. Preferably the table and its Yoperating parts will be.

latched down in the desired position when the automatic feed* mechanism is not operating. To accomplish this I prefer to use a controllingv lever, such as 28, which is also secured to the rock-shaft 22 and which. carries a stop 29 adapted to be engaged by a latch 30, when in the position shown in Fig. 1, and held therein. This latch may be released by any suitable means, such as a connecting-rod 31 and a spring-pressed handle 32. connected to said rod, this construction being substantially that of the well-known locking and releasing lever used for various purposes.

When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1 the weight is up and in position tobe effective and the table 12 is down in position to* receive a pile of sheets. To be eld in this position the lever 28 must of course be latched by the parts 29 and 30. When a pile of sheets is in position on the table, as shown in Fig. 1, and it is desired forward of the sheets sin to start operations, the latch 30 is released by meansof the handle 32 and the weight 25 immediately becomes effect-ive to force the table up until the uppermost of the pile of sheets is in engagement-with the feedroller 33, which, it will be `seen by referring to Fig. 2, is positively driven by means ot gears 34, 35, 36 and 37. The roller 33 not only serves to feed the topmost sheet of the pile of sheets into the folding machine, but also acts as a stop to limit the upward movement of the table 12 and the pile of sheets thereon, theinner end of said pile contacting with the bottom of said roller. The pile of blanks will preferably be held 1n place between a pair of side-guides, such as 38, which may be adjusted crosswise of the machine to accommodate different widths ofblanks, and be clamped in place by means of the usual fastening devices 39, Jhese parts beingof well-known construcion.

The automatic feed mechanism hereinbefore described in detail constitutes a very simple and effective mechanism for feeding up -one by one the sheets of a pile, and especially the sheets of a pile of paper-board preparatory to leading these 'sheets through a flange-bending mechanism, each sheet as 1t 1s lpresented in contact Iwith the feedroller 33 being frictionally engaged by said roller and fed into the flange-bending mechanism, when the weight is 1n action, and the next succeeding sheet being in readiness to go through the same operations as soon as the first sheet passes clear of the feed-roller 33 and into said flange-bending mechanism.

`Thus step-by-step the table and the pile of sheets thereon are raised gradually with a movement that is uniform at both the front and rear ends ofthe table, by the ower exerted bythe weight 25 transmitted) through the' positive connections hereinbefore described, the amount of movement at each step belng controlled by the sheets themselves and by the thickness thereof.

It will be clear that all of the sheets of a plle except the upper-most one should be held by a suitable stop, such as the end-stop 40, 1n such a manner that,y it will be impossible for the sheets to be' fed forward into the flange-bending mechanism until they rise yalcove the top edge of this stop, which top edge is made relatively narrow across its face 1n order to avoid twisting of the sheets as they pass thereover. The pass between 'the top. of this stop and the feed-roller 33 is of such width asto permit only a single Asheet to enter it' at a time. This construction therefore assures the 1positive feeding y as they come into contact with the fee -roller, to which position they are elevated one after the other y the rising step-by-step movement of the table12.

What I claim is:

l. A sheet feeding mechanism for automatically feeding a pile of sheets, comprising a movable feed table for holding the pile, a feed roller, a pair of rock shafts, ntermeshing gear segments on said rock shafts, rock arms connecting said rock shafts and said feed table, a third rock shaft, a gear segment on said third rock shaft operatively connected with one of said first mentioned rock shafts, and a motor connected to said third rock shaft whereby said table is adapted to move toward said feed roller to bring the upper sheet of the pile of sheets into engagement with said roller.

2. A sheet feeding mechanism for automatically feeding a pile of sheets, comprising a movable feed table for holding the pile, a feed roller, a pair of rock shafts, means on said rock shafts for establishing connection therebetween and also having connection to said feed table, a third rock shaft, means carried by said third rock shaft for coperating with ,the means on said pair of rock shafts; and a motor connected to said third rock shaft whereby said table ist-adapted to move toward said feed roller to brlng the upper sheet of the pile of sheets into engagement with said roller.

3. A sheet 'feeding mechanism for automatically feeding a pile of sheets, comprising a movable feed tablefor holding the pile, a feed roller, a pair of rook shafts having intermeshing gear-segments and also having rock arms operatively connected with the feed table at opposite sides of its center, a third `rock shaft having a gear segment thereon intermeshing with one of said firstmentioned gear segments, a motor connected to said third rock shaft whereby said table is adapted to move toward said feed roller to bring the upper sheet of the pile of sheets into engagement with said roller, and means independent of said motor for controlling the action of said third rock shaft.

4. A sheet feeding mechanism for automatically feeding a pile of sheets, comprising a movable feed table for holding the pile, a feed roller, a pair of rock shafts having inter-meshing gear segments and also having rock arms operatively connected with the feed table at opposite sides of its center, a third rock shaft having a gear segment thereon intermeshing withone of said first mentioned gear segments, a weight connected to said third rock shaft for actuating the latter whereby said table is adapted to move toward said feed roller to lbring the upper sheet of the pile of sheets into engagement with said roller, andmeans independent of said weight for controlling the action of said thirdroclr shaft.

5. A sheet feeding mechanism for automatically feeding a pile of sheets', comprising a movable feed table for holding the pile, a feed roller, a pair of rock shafts, intermeshing gear segments on said rock shafts, rock arms connecting said rock shafts and said feed table, a third rock shaft, a gear segment on said third rock shaft intermeshing with one of said first mentioned gear segments, a motor connected to said third rock shaft whereby said table is adapted to move toward said feed roller to brlng theupper sheet of the pile of sheets into engagement with said roller, and means independent of said motorfor controlling the action of said third rock shaft.

6. A sheet feeding mechanism for automatically feeding a pile of sheets, comprising a movable feed-table for holding the pile, a feed-roller, a motor for moving said table toward said feed-rollerl to bring the upper sheet of the 'pile of sheets info enlgagement with said roller, and connections between said mot'or and said feed-table ilicluding a pair of rock-shafts having intermeshing gear-segments' and also having rock-arms operatively connected with the.

feed table at opposite sides of its center, a third rock-shaft having a gear-segment thereon intermeshing with lone of said firstmentioned gear-segments, and means for controlling the action of said third rockshaft.

Signed at Rochester, in the county. of Monroe, and State of New York, this 29th day of March A. 13.1909.

' HENRY DE SMITH.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM GETMAN, JOHN G. FLonAoK.

Copies o'f this patent may be obtained forve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

